Basic English Grammar: Pronoun – 3

Rule 1:

The pronouns who, that, and which become singular or plural depending on the subject. If the subject is singular, use a singular verb. If it is plural, use a plural verb.

e.g:

1) Most of the Hindu students who study in these Madrasas are first generation learners.

Rule 2:

Distributive pronouns such as each, either and neither always take singular verbs in accordance with the subject.

e.g:

1) Either of us is capable of doing the job.

Rule 3:

The words such as yours, his, hers, its, ours, theirs and whose these possessive pronouns will not need apostrophes.

e.g: His research work is considered ‘revolutionary’, while hers is ‘risky’.

Rule 4:

Reflexive pronouns are used when both the subject and the object of a verb are the same person or thing.

e.g: Joe helped himself.

ii) Don’t use myself unless the pronoun I or me precedes it in the sentence.

e.g: More than that it was a competition which made me push myself beyond

limits.

Rule 5:

We don’t use possessive pronouns before nouns.

e.g: Incorrect: The feudal system that is ingrained in ours society is responsible for the denial of social justice in the name of caste.

Correct: The feudal system that is ingrained in our society is responsible for the denial of social justice in the name of caste.

Rule 6:

We use no one, nobody, nothing and nowhere to refer to an absence of people, things or places. We use them with a singular verb:

e.g: There was nowhere to park the car.

Rule 7:

We don’t use nobody, no one, nothing, nowhere after no, not, never or other words which have a negative meaning (hardly, seldom). We use anyone, anybody, anything, anywhere:

e.g: Incorrect: I can’t do nothing.

Correct: I can’t do anything.